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Researcher calls for rain harvesting for water
conservation
Accra, Sept. 18, Ghanadot/GNA - A researcher on Thursday
encouraged rain water harvesting to reduce dependence on
Ghana Water Company Limited to ensure prudent water
conservation and management.
Dr Fredrick Amu-Mensah, National Coordinator for the African
Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), Ghana Chapter,
said rain water was as potable as pipe borne water, if only
it were handled properly to meet quality requirement.
Dr Amu-Mensah was speaking at a research dissemination
workshop in Accra organised by the ATPS on issues
influencing values attached to pricing of potable water.
The ATPS is a multi-disciplinary network of various
stakeholders working to promote science and technology,
especially through policy issues.
He therefore called on estate developers to construct
underground reservoirs to store rain water, especially for
use in institutions that consumed higher.
Touching on a recent survey in Greater Accra and the Ashanti
regions to ascertain the willingness of consumers to pay for
private water supply, Dr Amu-Mensah said 23 per cent of the
respondents said they very likely to pay, whilst 38.4 per
cent said free access to water was a right to life that
could not be traded.
He said the statistics therefore showed that some still
believed that water should not be paid for.
Others, he noted, were also willing to pay for only quality
water at a reasonable cost and sustainable supply.
The ATP National Coordinator indicated that access and
quality of potable water had also decreased, as a result of
the population pressure.
“Where pipe borne water is accessible, it is not regular
enough and people still access water sources that could pose
health risks, “he added.
Dr Amu-Mensah also observed that although there were many
laws regulating water conservation and management, the large
number of implementing agencies affected its effectiveness.
He therefore called for a merger of all the agencies in
order to bring sanity into the management of water
resources.
GNA
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